Contact Email

History

Author Content

RAYMOND, Minn. — After explaining how technology-driven, prescription fertilizer methods make economic and environmental sense because fewer chemicals are applied to farmland, Noah Hultgren invited Matt Dean to climb into the cab of a John Deere combine. Even though there was too much snow to harvest corn and the combine was in a heated shop, Dean got the rundown on how the mammoth machine operates and then followed Hultgren outside to see a grain dryer that was reducing the moisture content of already harvested corn.

WILLMAR, Minn. — A growing market for industrial hemp as food, fiber and nutraceuticals is gaining ground in west central Minnesota and could find a place in Kandiyohi County. There's at least one field of hemp planted this year in Chippewa County and a food-grade processing facility is being established in Olivia—about 25 miles south of Willmar. Yes. It is legal. And, no, industrial hemp is not intoxicating.

WILLMAR, Minn. — A festive Christmas light celebration Saturday, Dec. 10, near Willmar had a tragic end when several passengers and the driver of horse-drawn wagon were injured after the horses got spooked and ran for about a mile before crashing in a yard. The passengers had non-life-threatening injuries but emergency life-saving measures were performed on the driver, who was taken to Rice Memorial Hospital in critical condition and later transferred to the Hennepin County Medical Center.

NEW LONDON, Minn. — Need to burn those extra Thanksgiving dinner calories or take a break from Black Friday shopping? Well, take a hike. It's "Free Park Friday" when entrance fees to all Minnesota State Parks are waived for the day to encourage people to take advantage of the outdoors. "Fresh air, great scenery, the company of family and friends and all at no cost. We hope thousands of Minnesota families take advantage of this offer," said Erika Rivers, director of Minnesota State Parks and Trails.

WILLMAR -- An aging population, increasing gas prices and a growing immigrant population that can't afford multiple vehicles to drive to work are all factors in the increasing need for transit services in rural Minnesota. That's why the expected unallotment of state funds and the expiration of the federal transportation bill this fall is making those in the transit business a little nervous. "It's a big issue," said Margaret Donahoe, legislative advocate for the Minnesota Public Transit Association. Donahoe was in Willmar Friday to talk about the impact of state and federal funding to trans

WILLMAR -- A Willmar teenager pleaded not guilty Wednesday to killing a Ridgewater College student last July. Miles David Edinburgh, 18, is charged with stabbing to death Adam Milton. Milton, 21, was from Florida.

SWIFT FALLS -- Just as time and new grass can erase the signs of death on a battlefield, the same is happening in Swift Falls where a once hazardous site is becoming a park. Nearly seven years after a fire torched Midwest Cylinder, a business where thousands of old liquid propane tanks were being stored and refurbished, the cleanup process is nearly finished. Once Swift County completes the task of containing about seven yards of lead-contaminated soil, the county will receive a "no further action determination" letter from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The three-acre site will th

Last year the YMCA child care center fielded five to six calls every day from people looking for childcare services. This year they've been getting five to six calls a week. "There is a change there," said Donna Brau, child care program director of the center, located at the Kandiyohi County Health and Human Services building in Willmar.

ATWATER -- A relatively straightforward air-permitting procedure, started in April of 2006 to allow Bushmills Ethanol to expand its production, has turned into a lengthy and expensive venture for the Atwater business. "It's a long, convoluted process," said Erik Osmon, a bit wearily, during a recent interview.